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Terms of Reference

Recognising the need for ocean observations beyond those for climate, and the increased need to connect to societal issues in the coastal zone, OOPC’s role has evolved to oversee the Ocean component of the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) and the physical variables for the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), while defining sustained ocean observing requirements for the World Climate Research Program (WCRP) and supporting assessments (i.e. IPCC), monitoring, projections and research. In this context, OOPC provides advice on scientific requirements to the Joint WMO-IOC Technical Commission on Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM), which is responsible for the coordination of implementation of platform-based observing system components. It is recognized that there are potentially a large number of groups that OOPC needs to interact with. These connections will be fostered in the context of progressing the OOPC Work Plan, which details OOPC activities and foci with a 3-5 year time horizon.